Epstein Saga Set for the Small Screen

Hollywood is circling a new scripted take on the Jeffrey Epstein saga, with Laura Dern set to lead the charge. Sony Pictures Television is shopping a limited series based on Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, the book by Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown, whose reporting helped reopen scrutiny of Epstein and his plea deal. Dern will play Brown, reports Variety, portraying her years-long investigation that uncovered dozens of victims, persuaded survivors to speak publicly, and ultimately led to the arrests of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Her reporting also led to the downfall of then-Florida Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, who was the US attorney who authorized Epstein's plea deal, notes the Hollywood Reporter.

Sharon Hoffman (of Mrs. America and House of Cards fame) is writing the script and will be showrunner with Eileen Myers of Masters of Sex. Dern will also executive produce, joining Adam McKay and Kevin Messick of Hyperobject Industries, along with Brown herself. If ordered to series, the project would mark the first dramatized TV series on the Epstein case, following a string of documentary treatments. For Dern, it's another high-profile role in a decorated career that includes an Oscar win for Marriage Story and an Emmy for Big Little Lies.